Phillies fans are known as the most faithful in baseball, but there was a loud gaggle of them along the top of the Marlins dugout cheering rookie Mike Stanton during batting practice.

“Bingo!” one guy would yell as Stanton sent ball after ball into the left-field seats. But they weren’t happy when he ignored their autograph pleas:

Owner Jeffrey Loria got a kick out of the fans, too. Told that Marlins fans were ready to see Stanton weeks ago, Loria said: “Well, they’re fortunate to be able to see him now.”

Loria laughed about how he teased Stanton on Sunday when he called him with news he was being called up. “I said I’m sick of waiting for you.”

Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Stanton will hit seventh in the batting order. Fredi said he looked at where other phenoms batted in their early days in the bigs — from Dave Winfield to Ryan Howard.

“Just go out and have fun,” he said he told Stanton. “Whether we win lose or draw I want him to have a smile on his face because your first day in the big leagues, you only get to do that once. We want him to enjoy that.”

Fredi even joked about his expectations for Stanton tonight.

“I hope he does something special tonight,” he said. “Nothing crazy, like win the game or anything. Just go ahead maybe hit 3 homers and pitch the seventh for us.”

As for Stanton, he said he never dreamed back in 2007, when he made his professional debut, that he’d be in the majors in 2010.

“I didn’t know what to expect 3 years ago. I definitely didn’t think I’d be here three yers from then,” he said.

And he didn’t at all mind being overshadowed by Stephen Strasburg, who will make his debut in Washington tonight.

“We’re both going to go out and try to do our best. It will be a good night,” he said.

“I’m sure he’s got to answer a bunch of questions and have cameras in his face just as much. I’m sure he’s taking it well and he’s gonna go and battle just like I am tonight.”